Brit-Mystery Showdown Round Three / BBC America in July
There are five new nominees set against each other in Round Three of the Brit-Mystery Showdown. Two of them will advance to the semi-finals; which two make it is up to you.
Inspector Morse: Readers of Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse mysteries must have been both delighted and skeptical at the news of its translation to the small screen. They may have been delighted that these fine mysteries were being recognized as the modern classics they were and yet skeptical that any television production could do Morse justice. It's easy enough to do a show featuring a Holmsian super-sleuth or hard boiled detective but quite another thing to capture the nuances of Dexter's Oxford educated, opera-loving, bachelor policeman. Morse isn't always right, he isn't sexy, and he doesn't burst in to smoke filled rooms guns blazing. It would take a special actor to pull the role off, fortunately for us they got one, John Thaw. Aided by sidekick Kevin Whately and a number of fine scripts Thaw became Morse, and the series joined the novels as a modern classic.
Lord Peter Wimsey : The original series featuring Ian Carmichael as Dorothy L. Sayers privileged P.I.. "The Nine Tailors" remains one of my all time favorite episodes in any genre.
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased): Proving you don't need to be breathing to be a good cop. What looks like a daft idea on paper works wonderfully as a slightly comic cop show where dead cop Hopkirk hangs about to help his partner solve crimes. The original series (as opposed to the new Reeves and Mortimer version) starring Kenneth Cope and Mike Pratt.
Sherlock Holmes: Jeremy Brett's bravura performance as the world's greatest, and most famous, detective. While not my personal favorite Holmes (the cinema's Rathbone and Cushing hold that honor jointly) Brett has many brilliant moments and his dedication to the role was second to none. He took one of the planets most famous characters and imbued him with fresh life and an idiosyncratic performance that does Holmes proud.
The Granada series is also of note for its attention to period detail and fine supporting cast. the scripts were also, uniformly, excellent, even if they did unnecessarily alter the stories on occasion.
Taggart : The late Mark McManus's tough Scottish copper with a heart of gold.
BBC America in July
First up, on BBC America, is a July 4th weekend dedicated to "Independence Day and other great British failures" featuring the American premier of the war time comedy mini-series "Over There" starring Men Behaving Badly's Martin Clunes and Samuel West on July 3rd. Then it's the
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